Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo claim 10 lives [PHOTOS]

By IBT Staff Reporter On 05/09/11 AT 9:03 AM

Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo Egypt have left 10 dead and 200 injured leading to fears of further escalation in sectarian clashes.

The Guardian reported that a Coptic church in Imbaba neighborhood was set on fire. Al Jazeera reported that about 500 Salafi Muslims had surrounded the Coptic Church claiming that a woman had been detained in Virgin Mary Church to restrain her from converting to Islam.

Currently, a curfew has been imposed by the Egyptian authorities in the Cairo district of Imbaba, VOANews reported. Imbaba has some of the worst slums in Cairo.

Al Jazeera reported that tensions between Salafists and the Coptic Church have been increasing since last year. Salafists have been protesting the alleged abduction of a priest's wife, Camilla Shehata, by the Coptic Church. They claim she converted to Islam to escape an unhappy marriage; a trend they say is common.

The same case was used by the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda as a premise to attack a Baghdad church that killed 68 people last year.

On Saturday, Shehata appeared with her husband and child on a Christian TV broadcast and attested that she was still a Christian.

Salafists are reportedly fundamentalists aspiring to see the Sharia (Islamic code) implemented in Egypt.

Top Christian and Muslim leaders have condemned the bloodshed and called for calm.

Some Coptic Christians marched towards the U.S. Embassy seeking America's protection for Christians in Egypt.